What Love Looks Like

I've been devouring the 2nd season of the Amazon Prime original series, 'Catastrophe.' 

It's an absolute revelation. I've never heard dialogue more accurate to how real relationships actually sound...or, at least, my relationship. These characters in the central relationship, they, too, express their adoration with brutal honesty, sarcasm, and kind of mean teasing. It's my love language, so I appreciate it immensely. (If you read my posts and sometimes feel bad for my poor husband, don't. It's character building. No, I'm just kidding. He could probably use a hug). 

The first season of 'Catastrophe' focused on them meeting cute with their genitals and accidentally making a baby. It's not part of their plan. He was meant to be transcontinental only briefly for work, but they're both in their late 30's and find that they really make each other laugh and decide to give it a go there in London. What's so surprising about this show is how vividly they express their doubts and disgruntlemnents (that's a word. Shut up. Are YOU writing this?) with each other. They don't let things pass. They don't polite with one another- they express all that's on their hearts and minds. 

It all ends up seeming loving instead of like an inability to pick battles because they genuinely like each other and this openness is shared vulnerability, a rawness with which they trust each other. They play zero games. They expect so much of each other, there is only absolute truth between them. And their humor keeps them afloat. They laugh a lot. Even when things are bloody awful. 

In this second season, we find that the baby that came from their early romancing was born extremely premature and that they almost lost both him and their marriage in those first few scary months of his life. Now, we're 2 years later and they've gone on to have a second child and are now dealing with life with two small kids (the first still with some effects of prematurity, and still the grief and terror of that ordeal hanging around their heads). Also, they'r adjusting to life with her staying home from her teaching job (this is England. She is EXPECTED to stay home for 52 whole weeks and looked at like a freak by her fellow teachers and the principle of her school when she tries to come back AT 16 WEEKS. BECAUSE HOW COULD SOMEONE WHO IS STILL EXCLUSIVELY BREAST FEEDING AND CARING FOR A TINY INFANT POSSIBLY BE EXPECTED TO RETURN TO--- never mind. Don't get me started. Fuck everything). 

Ahem. Sorry about that. As I was saying, they're dealing with stress of babies, the total fall-off of per postpartum libido but his stubbornly unchanged one, the way to accommodate friendship and other family into their busy lives....it's so fascinating. (Included in their family is Carrie Fisher, playing the world's most craziest mother-in-law like an absolute boss). 

The stuff that they go through, the way that they talk about it...it makes me sweat and look around all shifty-eyed while I'm watching because I'm CERTAIN someone has cameras in our bedroom. This is too accurate. Too close to home. 

Hahahahaha. That's me awkwardly laughing. Hahahaha. Ha. 

So, yeah. Basically, watch this show if you want to see what it would be like being married to me, and then after you finish, again, hug my husband because he is a poor, poor bastard.